


Happily Ever After

by occasionalphantomfiction (SemiRetiredAuthor)



Series: Phanniemay 2016 [15]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: F/M, Heteronormativity, Phanniemay, Phanniemay 2016, Phanniemay16, Valerie is in for a bad surprise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-27 01:11:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12570348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SemiRetiredAuthor/pseuds/occasionalphantomfiction
Summary: How Valerie thinks her life will go doesn't exactly match up with her reality.





	Happily Ever After

Here’s how things were going to go: Valerie was going to take down Phantom, and after the strongest ghost in Amity Park was gone—dead? Can ghosts die in a sense? Or is it just _gone_ , vanished, not here anymore?—the remaining ghosts wouldn’t be so attracted to her home without a ringleader to bring them there. The low-level scum that remained would be easy for the Fentons and maybe the Guys in White to handle on their own; no one would need her to keep up this frankly exhausting job anymore, and she could move on with her own life ghost-free.

She’d have so much time to spend with her friends, the real ones, the ones who didn’t immediately shun her when her dad had lost his job. Maybe she’d say she cut back on her hours at the Nasty Burger if they asked why she could hang out with them now, or maybe she’d just say she’d been working on scheduling her priorities better. It didn’t matter, she just needed a simple excuse to hide the weird and somewhat dark couple of years she’d been having since she’d taken up her “second job.”

She’d see movies, eat junk food, go shopping with her girlfriends, cheer on the guys at their respective sports games, anything and everything she’d lost time for recently. She could finally get around to painting her bedroom like she’d idly been wanting to do for months at this point. She remembered her friends enthusing over a couple different video games as time went on, and she’d have time to try them out and to understand what the big deal was. Instead of squeezing in whatever homework she could between ghost hunting sessions—and forget studying at all!—she could finally dedicate the time she needed to look attractive to the right colleges before the time came to submit applications.

Sure, even now she knew she’d miss ghost hunting in a way; it was all she’d done for almost a year now. It made her feel powerful, in control, strong. But that would be _so_ easy to ignore in exchange for being able to get back on track for the nice normal life she wanted to live.

She had almost two years of high school left. It might take some time to completely fix her grades, but she’d still have some time left over right away to start spending time with her friends, catching up on everything she’d missed through the exhausted haze of the past year. Call her a stereotypical girl if you must, but Valerie was looking forward to catching up on the gossip about her classmates, the fashion trends she _had_ to try now, and the hypotheses on who was hooking up with who. She knew it would still backfire on her, just like it used to, but she was stronger now. If powerful ghosts couldn’t tear her down, why should she let rumors do it?

She’d have time to try dating again. It was something she honestly had little experience in. She seemed to be more of a late bloomer, never really noticing any crushes before she’d started high school, and just as she’d been getting into dating, her ghost-hunting job had taken precedence. There was one boy in particular she hadn’t been able to get over despite having to end things to protect him from the potential negative effects of her temporary career. She wasn’t ready to immediately jump back into it, but she was already putting together a plan to inspire him to give her another chance, this time for a real relationship.

She could take her time and savor the chase. Maybe she wouldn’t have a boyfriend for a few months, but she’d spent enough time supporting herself by now that she knew she could handle some independence in her life. She no longer felt that _need_ to have the right man at her side, but damn if she didn’t still want this one in her life. Regardless, she now knew she could live—and quite happily at that—without constantly chasing a romantic relationship.

So she’d give it time. Maybe they wouldn’t be together right away, but if she had her way, they’d be able to give what might be _the_ relationship for her by the spring. After going on several dates and getting to know each other even better than they had the first time, he’d probably ask her to their junior prom. It was such an expected thing to do, a given really, but the thought of it still made her heart flutter, so unlike her. They’d have a good time, and maybe it would be the night they discussed where their relationship was going in the future.

She’d get to know his friends better. They’d seemed a little hostile the first time they’d dated, but it was important to Valerie that his friends like her so that they could all spend time together. It might take time, but they’d all learn to get along on friendly terms, and they’d come to legitimately enjoy each others’ company.

They’d start deciding which colleges they’d be going to—was he going to college? She needed to find out, it would be a lot harder to get her dad on board with them dating if he wasn’t—and maybe they’d take each other into consideration. She wouldn’t force him to any decision, but she could already see them picking the same college or at least two colleges close to each other. They’d take some time their first year to make new friends while still dating, but they’d talk about moving in together in a cute apartment just the right size for them. It wouldn’t be luxurious by any means, but it would be cozy and they would be happy being able to see each other all the time. She’d keep up with her friends from high school and her new college friends, but she’d still have plenty of time for studying and for him too.

They’d graduate and start their careers, and maybe eventually he would propose—somewhere laidback where they’d come together often in their time together, not some stuffy and overly formal venue. If they’d made it so long in their relationship, of course she’d say yes, and they’d spend some time planning out a small wedding for their closer friends and parents. If he was anything like she’d sensed during their initial time dating, he’d agree to a small wedding with a fun bout of traveling for awhile after the ceremony.

They’d be a married couple that lasted. Of course, they’d have their ups and downs, but they’d always come to a compromise eventually on issues, and they wouldn’t let the negatives bring them down too much. They would both remember that being happy together is more important than any little issue they might deal with.

It was too early to be thinking of some things now, but they’d deal with those things later when they were ready to. Thirty-year-old Valerie would know much better whether she wanted kids and which career path she should aim for. Fifty-year-old Valerie will have figured out her will and power of attorney and whatever else was painful to think about but might come up eventually in older age. Whatever they did individually and together, they’d come out of it happy.

Everything could still be perfect. She could fix her life instead of keeping up with what it had become with this career. She unleashed the final shot at her target, and Phantom went down, down, down, this time for good.

**Author's Note:**

> I found this a little too heteronormative as I wrote it honestly, but I also feel like Valerie WOULD dream of having a happy "normal" life post-ghost-hunting and so I ran with this idea.


End file.
